Trayvon's killer said to make self-incriminating statements

[MindMover]

Source: Reuters

Reuters) - Neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman made statements to police that help establish his guilt in the second-degree murder case against him for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, prosecutors said in a court filing on Thursday.

The claim came in a motion by prosecutors to keep some of Zimmerman's statements under seal pending his trial in a case that triggered civil rights protests across the United States, while sparking widespread debate over guns, self-defense laws and U.S. race relations.

"Defendant (Zimmerman) has provided law enforcement with numerous statements, some of which are contradictory, and are inconsistent with the physical evidence and statements of witnesses," the prosecutors said in their court filing.

They said the statements by Zimmerman were admissible in court and "in conjunction with other statements and evidence help to establish defendant's guilt in this case."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/25/us-usa-florida-shooting-idUSBRE84O00020120525

[Woody Woodpecker]

1. DA needs to make sure he stays in prison for the rest of his natural life

He deserves to sit in a 6x9 cell with a cellmate named Bubba.

[kestrel91316]

2. A BLACK guy named Bubba......

[RZM]

32. That would be an added bonus

Not only would it achieve the brutal sexual victimization you want to see happen, but it might have the added benefit of increasing racial hatred in that prison.

And if we're really lucky, it could even lead to retaliatory violence if the rapist does not obtain permission from the Hispanic gangs.

So it's a winner all around. Well played.

[Kaleva]

94. Apparently advocating prison rape now?

You ought to join in the discussion in Meta about this.

Edit: Or you may wish to heavily edit or self delete your post.

[MindMover]

3. Sometimes I get the feeling that we have been transported back to

Escape from LA.....Coliseum scene....funny stuff at around the 1:30 spot where bullets seem to only go so far.....

[PSPS]

5. Please explain

I understand the 6x9 cell part. Explain the significance of the phrase, "with a cellmate named Bubba." Please be specific about what such a phrase is supposed to imply.

[MindMover]

9. This article will probably start the explanation.....

http://www.lawcollective.org/article.php?id=48

[PSPS]

12. Not helpful at all. The word "bubba" doesn't appear anywhere in that article.

Can't you explain what your own words mean?

[MindMover]

13. They were not my words...but I will try to explain....

BUBBA is ..."At times it may be used as a term of endearment (or in an insulting sense) for a person, especially a man, who is overweight or has a large body frame.[citation needed] In popular culture and prison slang, it is often joked that new male prisoners will be obliged to share a cell with a large, physically powerful inmate called Bubba who will become forcibly sexually intimate with them.[1][2]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba

[Lucky Luciano]

14. Can't say you were not perfectly clear now! nt

[Heddi]

18. So rape is now an acceptable punishment?

or something to be joked about?

[MindMover]

30. ......

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/7265734620/][img][/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/7265734620/]strawman-argument[/url]

[antigone382]

48. Umm...how is it a strawman when it's exactly what was said?

The poster want him to end up in a cell with a guy named Bubba--signifying a large person who will forcibly sexually assault him (in other words, rape him, right???) Therefore, that poster views certain people being raped in prison as undergoing an acceptable form of punishment.

[MindMover]

71. Not what I said......Strawman is misrepresentation...

[antigone382]

74. But he or she didn't claim it was what you said.

They were reducing the original idea to its core meaning, regardless of who said it. If you felt they were mistakenly attributing the offending post to you, you could easily have corrected them.

[MindMover]

77. The post I am referring to is post #18 which is linked to my explanation of Bubba....

which is why there post is a misrepresentation....

I DO NOT CONDONE, PROMOTE or THINK that RAPE is FUNNY

[marble falls]

42. I so agree with you. What is this thing about extrajudicial punishment a lot of people.....

left and right have? Why is it acceptable for prisoners to be an instrument of 'justice'?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

46. Well, if its homosexual rape based on racism it's OK then.

Or so we're told.

Which does this pervert more? Justice, race relations or gay rights.

[obamanut2012]

65. Seriously

[PSPS]

25. Sorry, I meant to reply to the person who originally made the comment.

Of course, I'm not surprised he hasn't replied. Cowards always hide.

[MineralMan]

80. It's not a "joke."

It never has been, and never will.

[Sancho]

79. You can look up "bubba" in the Urban Dictionary

...definitions 4,5,6 are applicable.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. even here...

a lot of people think prison rape is a good way to teach someone a lesson. It is sickening, IMO.

[amuse bouche]

15. I agree with that

wholeheartedly. And I've never seen a woman make that Bubba comment

[awoke_in_2003]

22. it seems that prison rape fetishists...

are always male, for some reason.

on edit: I like the new Obama symbol avatar. Too bad the new Democratic Party one looks lame (that is why I still use the old one)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

83. There were some comments to that effect

made by some of the Duke Lacrosse hardliners among other calls for violence.

[RZM]

34. 2-4 to leave it alone on the first two posts in this thread

I alert whenever I see a post joking about or encouraging prison rape. I'd guess the hide rate is less than 20 percent. Prison rape is a human rights issue, plain and simple. For the life of me I don't understand how people could strongly condemn the rape of women in the free world then turn around and encourage it in prisons. It makes no sense to me.

While I greatly prefer the jury system to the DU2 moderating system, this is one area where the current system is inferior. The mods took a zero-tolerance approach to this issue.

[coalition_unwilling]

59. Thank you for your efforts. I also try to alert whenever I see the same and agree with you

that DU3's self-policing frequently falls short in this area of sexual violence among the incarcerated.

[kristopher]

49. Let me start by saying I agree with condemnation of this attitude and belief

I'm not sure that attacks like you launched are the best approach, however.

It's difficult to put into words, but maybe this will work - your reaction is ultimately based on deeply felt compassion yet your response lacked compassion for the person making the remark you disapprove of.

I don't mean to single you out since the point I'm offering applies very widely. It was your use of the word sickening that caught my attention - I agree with the feeling completely.

There is something inherently brutal about the culture in the US. There is a willingness and mental ability to dehumanize our fellows that, in my experience, far exceeds what is found the other cultures I have experience with.

My personal belief places the roots of the problem in the way economics drove the development of our peculiar brand of slavery and how the philosophy justifying that dehumanization permeated attitudes in a major religious movement (Southern Baptist). Since the institution developed mechanisms that prevented cognitive dissonance when thinking about things that would normally violate ethics based on the Golden Rule, and since those mechanisms became an integral part of the philosophical tradition of the institution, it left a fertile ground for cultivating minds with wiring that 'works around' our instinctive affinity for the Golden Rule.

All IMHO.

[Bo]

57. Millions of Acts of Violence seen on the Skinner box (tv) may have

...something to do with Violence in are culture.

[kristopher]

60. A self reinforcing cycle?

You don't see the same violence on TV in Japan, for example.

[awoke_in_2003]

91. I launched an attack?...

How is what I said an attack?

[kristopher]

95. It wasn't - that was poorly expressed

Pointing out that someone is saying something sickening is commonly thought of as a way to win friends. :smile:

Seriously, I don't know how else you (or I) could do it, but I don't think we actually reach people that way. At this point I'd love to give a wise suggestion about the 'proper' way to fix our culture, but I just don't have a clue. I think I understand the problem and hope calm discussion helps improve things a bit. That's all I have and I realize it isn't much.

So, press on; maybe you will manage once in a while to educate someone.

[snooper2]

62. You ever been in the same room with somebody with a bunch of body mass

when they are defecating?

The smell is atrocious! That's some severe punishment! Usually folks named bubba are larger folks who eat a lot of foods that don't mix well in the human digestive system.

[RZM]

29. Disgusting post

But you probably knew that already

[rhett o rick]

90. That's what I was going to say but I couldnt spell disgusting. nm

[JackRiddler]

72. Prison rape is hilarious, and totally deserved! Hooray!

Shame on you, Woody.

[rhett o rick]

89. Are you intimating that you would be happy if he was raped in prison?

While Zimmerman may be guilty of murder, he deserves fair treatment meted out by society. I dont think that includes rape.

[LongTomH]

92. Add me to the list of DUers who DON'T think prison rape is acceptable!

And that goes even for the worst offenders!

I hope justice is served in this case and Zimmerman does life, or at least a 'hard 40' (40 years with no parole!).

If he is sent to prison, he probably will have to be kept out of the general population to prevent someone from knifing him in the cafeteria.

[Kaleva]

93. Not cool to be advocating prison rape. Not cool at all. Says alot about you.

From post #13

"BUBBA is ..."At times it may be used as a term of endearment (or in an insulting sense) for a person, especially a man, who is overweight or has a large body frame. In popular culture and prison slang, it is often joked that new male prisoners will be obliged to share a cell with a large, physically powerful inmate called Bubba who will become forcibly sexually intimate with them."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba

Please join in on the discussion in Meta about this.

You may want to self delete or heavily edit your post.

[Grassy Knoll]

4. He was a neighborhood watch Volunteer.......

a party of one, not a captain of anything or anybody, a cop wanna be who
took the law in his own hands.

[crayfish]

23. A neighborhood watch person volunteer? Is there another kind?

???

[Grassy Knoll]

27. This article cites him as a "Captain"

..A captain has a crew, this fuck was a lone wolf, not a captain of anything
was my point. They gave him a label and words do have meanings.

[crim son]

47. The REAL neighborhood has made it clear he wasn't one of them.

He acted on his own. You know, like a vigilante.

[obamanut2012]

66. He also wasn't an official watch volunteer

ie registered as such with the cops.

Vigilante.

[MH1]

97. yeah, I wish they'd stop calling him that

REAL Neighborhood Watch wants nothing to do with this sick f*ck.

[Tx4obama]

6. Kick. n/t

[Bolo Boffin]

7. In the big release they did last week, there was quite a bit blacked out

And as I was scanning through, one of the main things being blacked out was interactions with Zimmerman.

How about them apples?

[Tx4obama]

8. Very interesting. n/t

[shimonitanegi]

10. HOA appointed or self-appointed, he wasn't an official neighborhood watch

He was a lone paranoid vigilante with a violent history.
If he was the official neighborhood watch, this tragedy would have never happened. Zimmerman was roaming in his neighborhood with a loaded gun and harassing people who he thought looked suspicious. He was just looking for trouble to use his deadly firearm. He is a mean dangerous sick prick, imho.

[Control-Z]

39. The way I understood,

he didn't even live in that neighborhhod. It was the next complex over where he actually lived. I could be mistaken.

[obamanut2012]

67. Correct -- official neighborhood watched cannot be armed

Is my understanding.

[solarman350]

16. Give MURDER suspect zimmerman enough "rope," and he'll hang himself

I'd rather see it go that way...literally than see him go to the State Pen and get "bubba justice." The Feds may execute him for committing a lethal hate crime. That's the one I favor the most for this particular human poser.

[Auntie Bush]

17. Good, I hope this guy goes to jail for life. The whole world is better off without him.

They don't need him in Peru either.

[Quixote1818]

19. I hope someone shoves this in Alan Dershowitz's face

He keeps calling for the case to be dropped and has been suggesting the special prosecutor is un-ethical. His reckless statements without all the facts are what I call un-ethical.

[MyTwoSense]

20. This guy is so racist!

Can you believe that this guy came down hard on the police over the beating of a homeless black man? Who does he think he is, standing up for a black man. Doesn't he know that he's a racist that should be raped by some guy named Bubba and spend the rest of his life in jail?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/24/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html

[bitchkitty]

38. Well, by golly!

That excuses everything. He stood up for one black man, so he can't be held accountable for killing another. Yeah. Makes perfect sense to me.

[leftynyc]

44. So now you can go back to freeperland

or whatever right wing shithole you came from and tell them exactly one poster said something about him being raped in prison where I'm sure you'll neglect to mention the pounding said poster got at the hands of normal people who think that's disgusting. Run along now. And be sure to mention how because zimmerman did one decent thing in his life gives him license to murder an unarmed man who was doing nothing wrong.

[obamanut2012]

68. This should go well

[Tommy_Carcetti]

81. Very few people on here believe Zimmerman was an open racist in the style of a KKK member.

But the mere fact that he may not have been a hard bigot, or that he is part Hispanic or whatever, does not mean the case does not involve race to a great degree.

This is a case involving allegations of racial profiling and/or racial prejudice (as in "pre-judging" somone due to his race). A person need not be a hard bigot who harbors open hatred against everyone in a particular race, but may still fall victim to the habit of racial profiling and racial prejudice.

The fact is, Trayvon Martin was doing nothing that night except walking home from the store. The fact also is that George Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin walking in the neighborhood and came to the conclusion that he was "up to no good" and was one of those "assholes who always get away". He had not observed Trayvon to have committed any crime or act anything which a reasonable person could deem as suspicious, but he viewed him as suspect nonetheless.

Now, had Trayvon been white and walking through the neighborhood, would he not have called the police that night or had followed him? It's not impossible, but I believe it to be far less likely. The facts are he had called the police on occassions previously regarding black males who he thought were behind crimes in the neighborhood. He called police on Trayvon Martin (and chose to follow Trayvon Martin and is alleged by the state to have confronted Trayvon Martin) not for any observeable reasons but simply because he shared the same general characteristic (skin color) as those past perpetrators.

[crayfish]

21. Well, that is certainly more than enough evidence to convict him. I suggest we just go ahead and

lynch him without further ado.

[1StrongBlackMan]

24. From what I'm seeing ...

zimmerman has a very good attorney. But watching his moves, I suspect he is playing defense against an overwhelmingly weak case. It appears that zimmerman has hung himself with his statements and/or text/communications.

This ought to be interesting.

[jaysunb]

31. Bingo ! n/t

[Quixote1818]

33. I agree, I found it very hard to believe Corey went with murder I based on what we have seen

I had a sneaking suspicion she had something big she was keeping the lid on. Big enough that the defense doesn't want it out in the public either.

[JDPriestly]

85. I thought she went with murder 2.

Is it murder I?

[Quixote1818]

86. Murder II, my mistake. nt

[Canuckistanian]

26. "killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin"

Is all I need from this article.

[Scootaloo]

36. Very unfortunate that so many need much more

I've seen so much garbage from people looking for any way to excuse the killing of an unarmed child, ll over the internet, even in my workplace.

Apparently, Trayvon needs to have been an absolute angel who never so much as sassed his mother in his 15 years for his death to have been unwarranted. Any misstep, any even very slightly questionable thing - even his GRADES - have been and are being used to justify his murder.

Welcome to America, right?

[MindMover]

99. I agree and want to add that character assassination of this youth

has become critical for the defense....because if they cannot paint Trayvon as this "out of control teenager" then they do not have a case and Zimm will do time.....

I also hope that the judge in the case realizes this fact and limits the amount of trivial nonsense in the trial....

[Scootaloo]

101. I think that the case is open and shut

First, there's no argument that George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. He did, end of story on that. What this case is about was whether or not it was self-defense.

The Defense team can come up with all the character assassination they want, but an unbiased jury is going to listen to the facts of the case. And the major relevant fact is this; George Zimmerman pursued Trayvon Martin in his car. After the police directed him to not do that, he got out of the car and confronted Martin. Even Zimmerman himself fesses up to that much. Thus it was Zimmerman who initiated the confrontation, going against police orders to do so.

There's frankly no way to make that win in a self-defense case. Even if Zimmerman wound up getting his ass kicked, it still ends up being Martin acting in self-defense against the armed man stalking and harassing him.

The defense team is trying to turn Zimmerman's committing the crime of assault, into an act of self-defense on his part. It's jut not going to work.

[MindMover]

102. If the defense proves out of control teenager....probable cause....

[Scootaloo]

103. They won't, and it would have no impact.

First off, nothing Trayvon was doing could have forced Zimmerman to follow him. Nothing Trayvon was doing would have forced Zimmerman to disobey the cops he had called. Nothing Trayvon was doing could have forced Zimmerman to exit his vehicle and confront Trayvon.

Period. Unless the Defense has some airtight proof of Trayvon Martin having eerie mind-control powers, it's just not going to happen. Zimmerman was looking for a fight, so he started one and shot an unarmed minor. He was not forced to do so, he chose to do so, and he did so against the advisement of the authorities.

"Out of control teenager" won't float in court any better than "gay panic" ever has; it makes lurid headlines, but what happens in the courtroom is a lot different from what happens in the newspapers.

[MindMover]

106. I certainly hope and pray you are correct.....nt

[JDPriestly]

28. OK. Now why would the prosecutor and defense counsel both want to keep the same

evidence under seal and away from the public at large?

So much of the evidence is out there. Why keep this secret?

Are they afraid of poisoning the jury pool? Is this normally done in this way?

[Quixote1818]

35. Reading the article, my impression is both sides want different stuff away from the public

Snip> Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara also wants to keep private text messages, emails and journal entries the defendant made, at least until he can review them.

and

Snip> Prosecutors asked that Martin's cell-phone records and crime scene photos of the teen's body not be released publicly.


These are two completely different things each side wants kept away from the public.

[JDPriestly]

84. I had the impression they were trying to seal the same evidence. Thanks.

[Quixote1818]

87. That was my first impression too

I had to read the article twice before I saw what was really going on.

[frylock]

37. nra trolls are getting skeered

[hack89]

58. Can't see how this will effect the NRA at all. nt

[frylock]

78. nra has a vested interest in syg..

that's why these zimmermam posts attract the 5-post sockpuppets like moths to a light.

[hack89]

82. This case will have no impact on SYG regardless of the results

gun control advocates simply don't have that kind political power, especially in Florida. Every poll has failed to show a significant change in support for SYG.

The Brady bunch will try to make it about SYG and there will be plenty of fiery editorials from the usual people but it will all come to naught. It is telling that in an election year the President has not made one peep about gun control - he understands the political realities.

[Boabab]

41. Well, speaking of 'stupidity', that trait is perfectly illustrated in your post.

I'll educate you: "how life works" is that if you aggressively stalk an innocent individual, who is minding his own business, after being advised not to do so, then end of shooting that person in cold blood after a completely unwarranted confrontation, you don't get to claim "self defense".

All your post has attempted to do, in an extremely lame fashion, is muddy the waters with all sorts of bogus claims which avoid the central issues in this case. An unarmed child was brutally murdered by someone who should never have initiated contact in the first place.

Trying to criminalize the victim in this case is a clear indication that the shooter is indeed guilty, and his amoral defenders are grasping at straws, desperately trying to justify the unjustifiable killing.

Trayvon didn't kill anyone, GZ did. Trayvon did not have a criminal history, GZ did -- with situations involving domestic assault and assault on a police officer.

It is very interesting to note that when faced with the option of receiving a speedy trial, the "innocent" GZ chose to forgo the opportunity to "clear his name" in an expeditious manner, instead opting for more delays. The guilt here could not be more clear.

Lastly, the media needs to butt out of this case now, and let the trial take its course.

[GETTINGTIRED]

43. ONLY....ZIMMERMAN KNOWS

Zimmerman and Trayvonn are the only two folks that have all the details. Zimmerman made sure only he was left standing to spin the tale however he chose.....but Zimmerman knows what he did or did not do.....so only he knows what he deserves.......I hope he gets every bit of it..............

[lunatica]

45. You do know that's what trials are for right?

And with forensic and witness evidence guilt can be established beyond doubt. So, no, he isn't the only one who knows what he deserves.

[Quixote1818]

51. Unless he spilled the beans in text messages or email.

He may have done so when he thought the cops were going to drop the case.

[LanternWaste]

50. Initially, I had some doubts that there wouldn't even be an indictment

Regardless of the outcome, my satisfaction was met by the indictment Zimmerman received and that it's proceeding to trial.

Initially, I had some doubts that he would be held accountable, that there wouldn't even be an indictment. So as far as I'm concerned, the primary instrument of justice has been served, and now it's up to some lawyers, some jurors, and a judge to clean up the mess-- something I'm confident they will achieve, regardless of whether Z is pronounced innocent or guilty (or somewhere in-between is my guess).

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the dramatic divisiveness this case has caused though, and as it stands, it seems the primary factor in the denigration of Martin is simply a masked racism. It could be much worse.... 50 years ago, there would have been few problems in people arguing that Zimmerman's innocence is justly predicated solely on Martin being black, but in the here and now, the vulgar bullies of racism have been rendered so ineffectual and target themselves for ridicule so much, they feel forced to hide behind rationalizations and justifications.

[ieoeja]

63. Outside DU racism definitely rules the day on this argument.

Here, his defenders are the Right-To-Keep-Bear-and-Kill contingency.

Right to Keep : 2nd Amendment lets me keep a firearm in my house.

Right to Keep and Bear : I want to carry a concealed weapon anywhere, anytime.

Right to Keep, Bear and Kill : if you shove me, it should be legal for me to kill you.

[slackmaster]

52. We're being toyed with by the media, set up for a major eruption of outrage which itself...

...will become the news.

PUT ON THE GLASSES!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

53. Should be interesting.....

What we have to keep in mind is that parties may not to want to taint the jury pool by releasing evidence early and having people like us speculate on it publicly.

While they typically have a duty to provide evidence to the defense, there can be restrictions placed on such evidence getting out into the media when the interests of the parties and due process is weighed against public access.

That all said, I'm fascinated as to what the contradictory and inconsistent statements may be.

I think some people out there are underestimating the prosecution in their decision to charge murder two, assuming that they did it only to assuage all the "angry black people" ( ) out there.

The fact of the matter is, what we do know of Zimmerman's story thus far suggests logical inconsistencies (again, why would someone who was allegedly being chased and gets away then suddenly turn around and allegedly decide to ambush his pursuer?). There indeed may be further evidence in the prosecution's hands that suggests not only reckless indifference to human life (i.e. manslaughter), but also possibly intentional homicide (i.e. murder). Such as how exactly long did Zimmerman hold his gun in front of Trayvon before pulling the trigger....

[slackmaster]

54. The parties to the case have nothing to do with the flow of "information" we're being spoon-fed

[Tommy_Carcetti]

55. So what do you believe is at play?

Honest, non-rhetorical question.

[slackmaster]

61. The motive is profit. Two, perhaps three conflicting narratives are being maintained by the media.

So that they can keep ratings high and sell advertising space.

If you take a 50,000 foot view, this story is just an ordinary murder case. George Zimmerman is a nobody. A patsy. He's been cast both as a violent, predatory racist thug; and as a humble neighborhood watch block captain trying to fill a void left by an incompetent and indifferent small-town police department.

The story has legs because people on BOTH SIDES of an imaginary schism that was created mostly by the media can be conned into following every detail, every tidbit of information that gets released.

Don't you see the pattern, Tommy? One day we see a burst of leaked information that appears to be exculpatory with respect to Zimmerman's guilt on the murder charge. The next day, a bunch of witnesses apparently change their story so there is little doubt that Zimmerman should fry.

People eschew meaningful activities that they could be doing in favor of staring with rapt attention at their TV sets, hoping that today's propaganda blitz will support whatever conclusion they've bought into.

This story is about two hairless yard-apes of unspectacular intelligence and undeveloped social skills who got into a stupid fight over TERRITORY. Meanwhile, every day dozens of other people get murdered and nobody cares because nobody hears about it.

It's all too obvious.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

64. I agree the media has the tendency to play up stories.

And they could, in part, be doing that in this case for ratings and profit.

But unlike stories about what the Kardashians or Snooki are doing, I will say there is an underlying importance to this story to the point where I wouldn't want it to be buried in the back pages.

Which, ironically, it was for the first two weeks after the shooting.

And we can't dismiss this as a story about "hairless yard apes" getting into a fight over "territory". It's a story with underlying contexts of racial profiling, of gun laws and gun lobbying, of what constitutes reasonable "self-defense", and of a tragic occurance, whether one believes the accused to be guilty or not.

Sometimes stories of a local nature become national, and for good measure. I believe this to be one such instance.

(By the way, I live in Florida. I remember when Stand Your Ground was passed--I actually know a few Florida legislators who told me that problems could erupt because of it. The feeling was that it was only a matter of time before a major case would arise that would put the law to the test. It appears that moment has finally arrived. So I believe the story is newsworthy just for that.)

[slackmaster]

70. I respect your opinion, but I think the underlying contexts you perceive have been hyped as well

There are stories about killings that are or appear to be racially motivated in the news almost every day, and stories about questionable claims of self-defense, but most of them die on the vine.

I believe this one took off because of the convenient availability of compelling images, specifically the snapshots of Zimmerman and Martin that were for weeks the ONLY pictures we were shown of the two.

I also believe the story will end badly not only because the two primary competing hyped narratives can't both be true, but because it may turn out that neither of them is true. A large number of people in the general public are going to end up feeling that a terrible miscarriage of justice has occurred, or figure out that they have been taken for a ride.

Or maybe some convenient distraction will cause the story to fizzle - A wildfire outbreak, a hurricane, or a national election.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

73. But just because one story is publicized and ten similar ones aren't doesn't necessarily....

....mean the first story is frivilous.

Case in point: Who was the black woman who on March 2, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her front seat on a city bus to a white man, resulting in her removal from the bus and her arrest?

If you said Rosa Parks, you would be wrong. Parks was arrested for her famous act of defiance on December 1, 1955, and the famed boycott followed from that incident. The woman who was arrested several months earlier for the same act was named Claudette Colvin, a 16 year old student who was pregnant at the time of her arrest. Local civil rights leaders chose not to run a campaign on Colvin's arrest, however, because of her seemingly taboo status of being a pregnant teen at that time.

Same act, same law, with seemingly only local implications at first, but in Parks' case, the discussion of the underlying issues quickly became national.

As I mentioned earlier, this Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case raises more issues than just a simple shooting. It doesn't mean that other similar stories with similar issues that have been ignored should be ignored, but it doesn't mean the media should ignore this particular story either simply because of past ignorance of other stories.

And I maintain that even if the photos initially released were of an older, more mature looking Trayvon Martin and an thinner, smiling, professionally dressed George Zimmerman, it would not change the issues that underlie this case. That we now have more accurate pictures of what the two individuals looked like at the time of the incident does not change the issues that underlie this case.

[slackmaster]

75. I don't consider any murder to be frivolous. They're all tragic. Equally tragic.

Thanks for the story of Claudette Colvin.

[JDPriestly]

88. The story is about one yard-ape of unspectacular intelligence and undeveloped social

skills who followed a young kid who couldn't run fast enough to avoid death.

People do get murdered every day, and people do get by with it.

But murderers who call the police and ask them to come to the scene of their crime before they murder -- now that's unusual.

And what is even more unusual is a murderer who asked the police to come to the crime scene before the crime and who followed their victim many yards before committing the crime at close range -- are not at least tried.

Zimmerman may be able to convince a jury that he killed in self-defense. I think it will be a tough call. But the thought that he should neither stand trial nor plead guilty, the idea that he can go scott-free without presenting his defense to a jury, is highly unusual and should not happen. He should at least have to present a credible and coherent case in his defense.

Surely we can agree that the victims, Trayvon Martin and his family deserve that much respect.

Zimmerman should have been arrested right away. He may be found not guilty, but he needs to stand trial or plead.

[hack89]

98. What is a "yard ape" in this context? nt

[MindMover]

100. From the urban dictionary...

Yard Apes

A slang term used for unruly children.

Omagawd! Here comes the neighbor's yard apes!!

[ljm2002]

105. "People eschew meaningful activities"...

..."that they could be doing in favor of staring with rapt attention at their TV sets"...

I'm guessing that you exclude yourself from that group of people. It should be noted, however, that you yourself are also apparently eschewing meaningful activities in favor of posting on a message board about the very same case you think the rest of us should not concern ourselves with.

The condescension fairly drips from your post, as does the irony, but both appear to be lost on you.

[olegramps]

56. This is what I am sick of reading and hearing regarding Zimmerman's protection of his neighborhood:

He is not a member of the National Neighborhood Watch Association and didn't adhere to any of their rules. Firstly, they can NEVER carry any type of weapon. They can never confront anyone and can only observe and report their findings to the proper authorities. He is little more than a self appointed vigilante with no authority to do what he did. His being consistently described as a Neighborhood Watch Captain by the media is nothing more than a dishonest attempt to provide him with supposed authorization to excuse his flagrant violation of citizen's rights.

[obamanut2012]

69. Thank you!

His actions are smearing all the terrific official watch volunteers who help keep their neighborhoods safe good places to live.

[MindMover]

107. and murder another human being......

[Dragonfli]

76. Since they know by now that he was not a member of the neighborhood watch, let alone a captian, I

am sure they will retract that first paragraph and replace it with the correct term, loner vigilante. They will do so right?

[misshu]

104. Spam deleted by Violet_Crumble (MIR Team)

[fascisthunter]

108. zimmerman is an unstable psychopath

[MindMover]

109. you should be an expert witness for the prosecution....

[fascisthunter]

110. oh well

[lunasun]

111. Neighborhood watch captain .......once again......not true